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AC4: Black Flag Preview. Everything you need to know

Main Character:
You're Edward Kenway, a young, brash pirate in the early 18th century, born in Cardiff, Wales but relocated to the West Indies (the Caribbean) where you become a pirate and are later trained to be an assassin.

It's no surprise. The open-world Caribbean adventure is massive: 50 locations big including three sprawling cities, and a huge area of ocean to explore.

Black Flag began development in summer 2011, Ubisoft told Eurogamer, while the company was still busy applying the finishing touches to Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

Since then, Ubisoft Montreal, Singapore, Sofia, Annecy, Kiev, Quebec, Bucharest and Montpellier have been working on the project, while others were kept busy with last year's Assassin's Creed 3.

Kiev and Montpellier weren't included in the role call of developers that Ubisoft listed in its AC4 press release this morning, but were clearly listed on-screen at the reveal event that we attended.

Originally Posted by Ubisoft's Carsten Myhill, lead game content manager told Eurogamer

We've been in development since summer 2011.We've had two teams working in parallel - there's been some overlapping and when it gets to the end of a game it's all hands on deck to get it finished.

No(Little) loading Screens

Black Flag appears to be a hybrid of the series' more charismatic early-Ezio era set within a truly open world of land and sea, on a scale reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Gone are the boundaries marking ground and ship-based missions. The transition from one to the other is "seamless", Ubisoft promised, with the "reckless and charismatic" Edward Kenway able to jump onto his ship, sail off with his crew, board another vessel, plunder their booty and pull back into harbour for a spot of grog at the local tavern - all in the same huge map.

The developer was coy about promising no loading screens at all - some may still exist when starting missions, for example, or in other certain circumstances - but the dividing line between naval and ground based exploration no longer exists. It's a good thing too, as players will be spending plenty of time on the open ocean, travelling between the game's three main hubs and exploring the world's many extra islands and hidden secrets.

The Main Cities:
City-based exploration is still key to the series, Ubisoft stressed. Despite all the advancements in nautical navigation, Black Flag would not be an Assassin's Creed game without chases over rooftops. For that there is Havana, capital of Cuba but described as the most European-style city in the game, like AC2's Florence but under the Caribbean sun. There's also Kingston, a British town similar to AC3's Boston, surrounded by plantations and tobacco fields. Finally, players will explore Nassau, a base for Bahamian buccaneers, and the most traditionally piratey area of the game.

Historical References:
Ubisoft was keen to stress the game's historical setting in the Golden Age of Piracy, when scores of privateers were laid off after the Treaty of Utrecht and formed close-knit alliances, some even with early democratic leanings. The game's supporting cast includes the infamous Blackbeard, vicious Calico Jack, Anne Bonny and Charles Vane, the tales of which Ubisoft has plundered. The developer promised that these were already as colourful as any Hollywood blockbuster. They're ripping pages from history, saying we'll experience the 1715 wreck of the Spanish Armada, the assault of 42 Portuguese ships and that we will be marooned on a desert island with the real pirate Charles Vane.

Jackdaw:
The game's "second main character" is the Jackdaw, Kenway's ship, which will grow as players progress thrughout the game. 60 metres long with 26 sails, she vastly outguns AC3's Aquila. Players will start with six cannons but can add another fifty, and employ additional upgrades such as swivel guns and explosive mines. Using the spyglass, you'll be able to quickly analyse other ships nearby, note their bounty on board (measured in rum, gold, clothes and special items) and judge a plan of attack. Ship characteristics and classes now vary beyond simple sizes. Some vessels will charge you down and attempt to ram you, while others will hold back and blast you from afar.

You can harpoon a whale:

Multiplayer:
They're not really talking about it. It's land-based. No ship vs. ship stuff. New era, new settings, new game modes. More details to come.

Modern times:
It's back, set in 2013. No Desmond Miles, descendant of the main games' protagonists. He's done for.

Originally Posted by Trottier

The present day in ACIV is basically the logical continuation of the ACIII present day. But this time, instead of making you play through a character of the past through a character in the present, we wanted to make it even more immersive for the player, make it more fun. So, you are now a full-time employee of Abstergo Entertainment, and you've been hired there as a researcher. You are the one in the Animus doing the research on an important character from the past, Edward Kenway.